So Sudden
by Mable
Summary: It only took a second for a fight to turn into Nine accidentally getting injured, severely. Now the others are struggling to fix him while Eight must deal with the guilt of causing it, and One must deal with his own complex feelings. 1x9, 2x5, and 6x8.
1. Chapter One

__**Mable: My newest _9 _fic of three chapters. This one is a request from _27's Fury _who has taken the time the review, read, and enjoy all my _9 _fics! A very good writer and I highly reccomend checking out the fics that _27 _has written. Again, thanks to xXBroken-Wings-ForeverXx who introduced me to _9. _Finally, a special thanks to Five for being so cute all the time. :) Come on, everyone knew it was coming! He's cute! Ah, enough of that. Again I don't own _9, _Enjoy!**

_**So Sudden**_

_Chapter One_

"_I cannot understand why you must disobey me every second of every day! Do you want to be caught by a beast just to spite me?" One's voice was rising in volume and Nine tried to defend himself, "I was only out for a few-." A roar of anger, "__**Silence!**__ Don't you dare interrupt me! Why must you be so uncaring? So foolish! You must be doing this on purpose!" Nine tried to raise his own volume, "But it wasn't even that dark yet!" This was retorted quickly, "You were out there at night! It doesn't matter how dark it was!"_

A cry broke Nine's thought and as soon as he heard it he recognized that it was Six, and found himself growling in anger. It had already been a bad day and that noise set him off because he knew what it signaled. This meant that again Eight was taking pleasure in going at the artist who had let out the noise. He was tired of this, tired of this long hard day in which he received quite a scolding from One. Said leader was upstairs in the sanctuary and once he was done scolding the male, let him go with the others. A few of the other Stitchpunks were out searching through the Emptiness except for Nine himself, lingering in the house below the new sanctuary with Five who had been trying to make him feel better, and perhaps Two who was possibly still upstairs.

In fact, as Nine started out of the house, he was stopped by Five, "Nine… I think you should calm down a little." He feared what could happen if Nine got involved while he was so irritated. Still it didn't calm the other male at all who immediately stormed out into the Emptiness. He followed the sounds of a distressed Six who had previously simply been searching for ink, and found the scene that was occurring. Six had found more ink only to have it now being held over his head, out of his reach, and that smirk on Eight's face made Nine growl a bit. The way Eight could smirk while Six just stood there, reaching up, looking incredibly helpless and sending pleading looks to the larger.

"Leave him alone." Nine spoke up and Eight glanced over with the same smirk. The shorter didn't faze him at all and Nine was close to snapping. After what happened, what One yelled at him, he was not taking this from Eight. He stepped forward and got between Six and Eight, "Just leave him alone, Eight. You've had your fun, you're tortured him enough for the day." He watched as Eight's smirk dropped and was replaced with a glare, "What does that mean?" The younger saw the ink well being put down and snatched it up, handing it to Six quickly so he could face the bully. The artist took it and almost dropped it as he tripped on a sharp pole jutting from the ground, receiving a glance from Eight.

"Freak." That mutter was just begging to set Nine off and his voice raised as it had with One, "Take that back!" he demanded, "Take that back now!" This actually startled Eight before he regained his glare, looking down at Nine, "I didn't call _you _a freak. Not much a difference though." Nine scoffed in a One-like way, "You think we're the freaks? After you look in a mirror remember that you are the one who enjoys only pain! That's not normal Eight, you're not normal! And you know what? You're a failure too! A failure at everything!" The taller's fists clenched up, "Don't start lecturing me on being a failure, Nine! Remember what you did to us! You're the failure; you just think you're some sort of hero because of it!"

"Your only defense is to blame me or hit me! Typical, poor, stupid Eight can't come up with his own words! Can't use his intelligence because he has none!" Nine was on shaky ground, Six was becoming afraid, and Eight was growing increasingly infuriated. Nine didn't mean half the things he said, he was just so upset after what One did and then having Six again being bullied, and he continued. "A pathetic oaf!" He viciously called out and Eight lost it and lashed out, shoving the shorter who fell back and crashed to the ground. At this Eight was still frustrated, but smirked in triumph as he heard Six gasp. Then he looked at Nine and his optics widened in shock, the terror, and he stumbled back.

Nine noticed a pain and thought he landed a bit oddly and simply hurt his back, by his shoulder a bit. A little above mid-back to the right started to hurt more and he couldn't sit up. Looking down he noticed something coming through his fabric in the same spot as the hurting in his back. Then it all came to him. It was the sharp pole from before that he fell on and it went straight through him. It went through him, he was impaled, and suddenly he felt very cold. His breathing began to quicken and Six suddenly turned and ran, going to obviously fetch the others for help. Once he got inside the house he was crying out, Nine could hear his desperate cries for help and realized he himself was starting to shake.

It hurt so much and it Nine was starting to become frantic as he knew he couldn't move. Eight looked shocked, standing there, still, and was unable to do anything except stare. He hadn't wanted this; Nine knew that and didn't really blame him for anything other than not noticing how he was pushing him onto the pole. Though he couldn't voice it as he found his voice wasn't working. Nothing was working, his optics were flickering, and he was so afraid. Then he heard One's voice, "What's going on? Six, you must be clearer!" Nine didn't know when One got downstairs as he was losing grasp on time at the moment. Though Six was a mess of words that barely made any sense, One released him so he could go get Two, knowing something was wrong. Then the leader headed to where he could see Eight standing and Nine on the ground.

Upon seeing Nine his slanted optics widened to the point that they were no longer slanted. Nine tried to speak to One, to say anything, but no words came out. Finally One came forward, "Nine, just stay calm." He insisted before turning back to Eight, "Help me get him off of this. We need to get him upstairs immediately." Eight didn't respond and One yelled, "Eight!" The bully snapped out of his stun and came over to help, still somewhat dazed. They both lifted Nine gently to coax the pole out. The sudden pain was unbearable and Nine let out a groan as the pole slid out, leaving a large gaping hole through his metal and fabric. It hurt so much as One now lifted him alone.

The leader seemed to insist on carrying Nine as he headed into the house, swearing as he realized the bucket lift was up. He ended up just standing there, holding Nine close, "It will be okay… It will be okay…" He repeated this and Nine tried to stay conscious as the pain was overwhelming. Then he murmured, softly, the only words he could get out, "I'm sorry…" One looked at him, actually looking a bit sad, and actually reassured him, "You can apologize later when you're healed." The bucket lift managed to make it down carrying Five, Two, and Six. The medic and his apprentice rushed to Nine's aid, but ended up simply helping One manage his way into the bucket lift without dropping him or hitting him against anything.

As they rose Two took a better look at the wound, gasping in shock at where the pole had impaled the younger, "How did this happen?" He asked and looked at Six and Eight, both standing there as Five turned the bucket lift crank. Eight couldn't speak, he felt an overwhelming guilt take over, and he couldn't deny that it was his entire fault. Then the artist spoke up, "Fell on it." He didn't say Eight pushed him, he left it completely out. Somewhat the bully was grateful and glanced at Six who had been looking at him after the comment. He looked down as soon as Eight looked at him. Then a silence overtook as the bucket lift continued to rise to the safety of the sanctuary.

One refused any help carrying Nine as a possessive nature was beginning to take over. When he made it to the workshop he set Nine gently on the cot and Two immediately unzipped the Stitchpunk to view his inner metals. Five and he began to work, trying to fix the metal and adjust it in a way to cover the gap as quick as possible. Meanwhile One retreated to the throne room, sitting on his throne, and he felt his own guilt. This wouldn't have happened if he wouldn't have yelled at the younger Stitchpunk. The things he said blared through his inner thoughts and were a stark reminder that if Nine died, it would be One who would be the true murderer, not the pole that stabbed him.

A few minutes passed and One began to pace. A few more and he looked down from beside the bucket lift at the house below. Then he moved back to his throne. A while later he repeated the process, not noticing that he was becoming quite frantic in his steps. After an hour, Seven and the twins returned from the Emptiness. She noticed his behavior, "What happened?" She could feel that something was off and One continued pacing as he explained, "Nine was injured outside." The twins looked at each other in shock and worry while Seven took in the information, "How bad is he?" The leader stopped pacing, but didn't look at her, "Two is working on him now…"

"You didn't answer my question." The Warrior pressed and One fell onto his throne wearily, "From what Six said, he was out there with Eight and Nine, but Eight is somewhat in shock and won't respond correctly, Nine fell and landed on some sort of metal piece jutting from the ground. It impaled him through his back and came out his chest about right here." He showed where it went through on his own frame and Seven's optics widened. She could tell that this was serious, even the twins were looking fearful of the situation. "No word on how he is?" Seven asked cautiously and One shook his head in response. She decided to go get the twins situated in their room before going to see if Two was done working.

Said Inventor was finishing up, but seemed to still be quite concerned. When he heard the female's knocking he spoke up, "Come in, we're done." Seven stepped in and he sadly smiled at her, "Hello Seven, I see you finally came back. How was your adventure?" Seven knew he was trying to be pleasant, but was more concerned about Nine, "How is he?" She asked and both of the medics glanced at each other before Two explained, "I did all I could to repair him… I only fear how his body will react to the trauma and sudden surgery. Sometimes this can trigger overheating and that is certainly not something that we want to put Nine through." He explained as he covered Nine with a thin blanket.

Then the three left Nine to rest and were immediately confronted by One, "Is he awake?" Two shook his head, "No. He is stable, the surgery went fine, and as I told Seven, we just need to watch for overheating." He then whispered under his breath, "I'm sure you remember when Five ran that horrible fever after his… Accident." This caused the leader to have a flash of terror. After Five lost his eye he had overheated, ran a decent fever that caused him to be confused and delirious for the night. By next morning he was fine, as fine as he could be recovering from that, and thankfully the fever hadn't been too bad. That didn't mean it couldn't be worse this time and One was growing increasingly concerned for Nine's safety.

* * *

><p>Eight couldn't stand the guilt as he sat on his bed and stared at the wall. Pushing Nine, him falling, that look, the blurring moments of helping him upstairs, it was repeating itself over and over. Like a torture treatment, Eight found himself becoming more unstable. He didn't hate Nine and never wanted this to happen. Sure, he bullied the other male, but he didn't even really dislike him. He had just gotten so frustrated at Nine's words even though the smaller was only upset because of something the larger had done. Technically Nine had a right to try and hurt Eight like he had been hurting Six, even if it was more of an agitation than an actually hurt of any kind. Nine's words couldn't pierce into Eight.<p>

Unfortunately, the sight of Nine falling on that pole could. That was when Eight heard a noise and looked up to see a familiar Stitchpunk at the door. Six just stood there, clutching his key, and looked down, "Eight…" The bully also looked away, "What do you want?" A small pause before the artist spoke up, "Wanted to say… It's not your fault." The bully clenched his hands as he tried to reject the comfort, "I don't want to talk, Six." Still Six seemed bent on helping as he could. He came a bit closer and touched the other's arm, "He'll be okay." Eight yanked his arm away, "I don't care what happens to Nine! He had it coming!" Denial laced his voice so strong that even Six could hear it and continued to speak.

"Eight… It is okay though… To be upset. I'm upset too, but it's not your fault. It was an accident." Now Eight stood and towered over Six who immediately grew afraid of the glare in his optics, "I never said I was upset _or _that it was my fault! You were standing there, you could've done something! All you did was watch! Then you come in here to bother me about this?" The smaller looked down again and Eight could see the hurt. This wasn't normal bullying hurt though, this was much stronger, and he turned around to start out of the room. At this second Eight realized that this was just vicious, Nine was right about him. So he spoke up, "Six wait…" he couldn't believe himself, but he had to do this.

Six stopped a few inches from the door, looking back at the other in confusion with the flash of hope. Secretly the artist always hoped for Eight to be nicer, to say sorry just one time, to prove that perhaps the other didn't hate him like he thought. Eight needed relief from this guilt, but didn't realize what he was doing under he could feel Six in his grasp. The striped one went stiff as soon as the arms slipped around his frame, at first cautious to the act, but them pressed against the other's chest. He was surprised that he wasn't pushed away and decided to try as best as he could to enjoy the moment. Of course, he felt guilty as well about what happened, Nine had been defending him after all.

"'M Scared…" The beginning word was muffled into Eight's front as Six began to tremble a bit. He could feel Eight stroke his back and let out a quiet sigh of comfort, "He'll be fine, Six. Nine has made it through much worse than this." Honestly this helped them both at least a little and they continued to stay like that, Eight holding Six, trying to stay hopeful.

* * *

><p>For a few hours, everything went fine. One paced, Nine slept, and eventually Two let out this noise that was identified as a sort of yawn. "Well Nine seems to still be resting so I say we go to sleep and let him be. Waking him up won't help him." He insisted before turning to Five, "Do you mind if I rest with you?" In the new sanctuary, Two had a bed in the workshop, but didn't want to risk disturbing Nine. Five stuttered out an answer, "I-I… Of course I don't." Two smiled at his shyness and lead his apprentice back to the room they were to share. Soon Seven followed suit, stopping at the entrance to the hall to turn back to the leader, "Are you going to be alright, One?"<p>

One put up his normal front, "Why wouldn't I be?" He questioned in a bit of offense and Seven shook her head, before crossing to him and touching his shoulder, "Make sure to get some sleep. Nine wouldn't want you to become weak from worry." Before the male could protest, she left the throne room, leaving him alone. After a good few minutes One decided to do a quick check of Six, Eight, and Nine before he would head to bed. Looking in at Eight he was quite confused to see Six curled in bed with him and backed out of the situation without another thought about it. Now he entered the workshop and took a quick look over Nine, standing beside him, before also starting to leave.

"One…?" When One heard Nine's voice he spun around, "Nine?" The younger male lay on the cot looking a bit strange. He shivered a bit before speaking, "One… I'm sorry…" The leader came closer and grasped his outreaching hand, "Don't be, don't be." He muttered out, "This was a terrible accident and I shouldn't have yelled at you earlier over nothing." The weak one shook his head, "It wasn't nothing, One, I snuck out last night and I shouldn't have." One squeezed his hand tighter, "Well it's all over now. How are you feeling?" Nine trembled, "Cold." He shivered harder, "Very cold." Then he suddenly looked around oddly, "I feel wrong… Something is wrong with me."

"Nine you just had surgery. Obviously you are going to feel a bit different." Nine shook his head, "No, One. Something is wrong, I… I was talking to Five earlier and we knew that we shouldn't have gone out. Then we had this plan about going into the basement. I told Two that I thought we should make another watchtower." The leader was highly confused, "Nine, you are not making sense." He reached forward and touched the other's forehead, only to realize, in horror, that he was burning up. "You're running a fever." He explained and Nine tried to curl up as best as he could, "I'm so cold… Why am I in the workshop?" By now One knew he had to get Two as soon as possible.

"Wait here, do not move. I must get Two." As One left the room he could hear Nine's voice begging him to come back. He wanted to run back, but realized he had to go to Two. He barged into Five's room and tried to ignore the very compromising position that the two were in. They were cramped in the small bed, Five sprawled over his mentor with his head pressed securely into his neck, and Two with his arms tightly around the younger's midsection. One decided to announce his presence, "Two!" Two jumped a bit as he woke up and Five ended up completely falling off the bed, landing on the ground with a distinct thud. The Inventor looked at the leader, "One, what-?"

"Nine is overheating and is growing very confused. Come now." With that One spun around and began to hurry back to Nine. Two only gave enough time to help Five up from the ground before following in to the workshop. One couldn't believe how Nine had changed, shivering heavily, making these odd groaning noises, and all around looking awful. As soon as he grasped the other hand he felt it clamp down tightly on his own, Nine looked up at him, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone with Seven or you could've come using the bucket lift." It didn't make any sense and One simply reached forward to stroke Nine's head. When Two came in and touched his head, he was shocked.

"This is not good at all." Two murmured, "We must cool him down." In desperation One looked at him, "We need water. Where is there water?" Two looked confused, "We don't have water. I don't even think there is any downstairs." At this time Five came in and a few of the others were waking up, they could hear One as he became worked up, "There has to be water somewhere! There is no possible way that every drop of water has evaporated!" That was when Seven spoke up from behind Five, "There's that pool at the library, but that's a thirty minute walk, twenty if running." One huffed, "Well we need it. If it can cool Nine then we need it as soon as possible."

"Trust me; it will do miracles for his inner metals." Two insisted, "I'll set out right now." There was a muffled voice from the hall and One looked over, "What was that?" Five leaned back to see out, "Eight says he'll go." The leader nodded, "Yes, yes, fine, tell him to hurry out." As he stroked Nine's head, Two addressed Eight in the hall. The bully had heard what was occurring from his room and, seeing as though he caused this, wanted to be the one to retrieve the water from the library. "Check if Six has an empty ink well and when you get there quickly rinse it out before filling it." The Warrior also gave directions to where the pool was, as she wasn't sure if he knew or not.

Only a little later Eight left with one of Six's almost empty inkwells to collect the water. Afterwards Seven headed downstairs to search around the lower floor to see if there was any source of water there. Either or, it left One with the task of keeping Nine calm and safe. By now the blanket was removed and he was toying with the idea of unzipping Nine so that his insides could get a little cooling relief. As he reached down and grasped the zipper, Nine started talking, "I always wondered why you had that staff, but you don't have it now." He pointed out and the leader pretended that he understood him, slowly beginning to unzip him, "That is quite nice, Nine."

"Yeah, it's strange that it is with you."

"I know Nine, I know."

"I love you."

Finally One actually listened and blinked in confusion, not believing that Nine said something like that. He had though; Nine had said he loved One. "Nine… You are not thinking clearly." Still the injured one smiled, "But I do. I love you, One. So much. I think about you all the time, about how I love you." He had to be so delusional that he had no idea what he was saying, One deduced. Then he suddenly felt the need to speak with Two. "I will be right back. You stay here and rest." He kept him open a little bit still and exited the room, trying not to seem as disturbed as he was about this. He headed to the throne room where Five and Two were waiting for the others to come back.

"Two, we must talk in private." One said quickly and the Inventor smiled, "Alright." He followed One to his room, knowing from One's voice that something was wrong. "Did Nine get worse?" He asked, and the leader sat down on the bed, "No… This is about Nine though. He said something unbelievable to me." The inventor could only guess what a fevered Stitchpunk could say. Then the words were blurted out, "He said he loved me, Two. Nine said he loved me." Two's optics widened for a second and One gripped his bed coverings tighter. Then Two looked away, head in his hand, and simply stayed like that for a second. It almost appeared to be like he was upset until One heard a familiar noise.

"Are you laughing?" He demanded and Two turned towards him, "You are saying you had no idea?" he laughed like it was the funniest thing ever and One was quite flustered, "I do not understand." The other decided to explain, "It's quite obvious, One. I saw it since the first time I saw you both in the same room together. I don't know how you didn't notice how Nine felt about you!" The leader scoffed, "Nine doesn't really feel that way. It is certainly surprising that he said it, but I know it is just the fever talking." This received an exasperated look, still amused though, "He idolizes you. He always has." Again One scoffed, "Now you are as delusional as Nine is. We have disagreements, he constantly tries to take my place as leader, and he-."

"Does it for your attention." Two chimed in at the last second, "He does whatever he can to get your attention. Let's be honest, every single time he tries to make a leader decision, it catches your optics and he becomes the center of your universe. Even if only for a few seconds." Finally One looked alarmed, as though he realized that Two was right, and exhaled slowly. He felt Two's hand on his shoulder and the Inventor comforted him, "One, I don't think Nine's feelings are unrequited, if you don't mind me being blunt." As he started to look over to the Inventor, One heard a thudding noise from the other room, ignored it, and responded, "Two…" he trailed off as he heard a cry.

"One!" It was Nine, and something sounded wrong. He cried out again and the Stitchpunks ran out of the room towards the workshop.

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><p><strong>Mable: Chapter Two up in... Err... A few minutes. ^v^ I hope you enjoyed!<strong>


	2. Chapter Two

__**Mable: Chapter Two, nothing to really say, again I don't own _9._****Enjoy!**

_** Sudden**_

_Chapter Two_

It had taken a while, but Eight had finally arrived at the library and entered inside to where the pool was. He poured the little bit of ink out of the ink well before filling it with the rather cool water of the pool. Topping it, he was ready to head back to the sanctuary. Yet when he stepped outside Eight was alarmed when he caught the slightest bit of a shadow behind one of the statues. He placed the inkwell down and unsheathed his knife, slowly approaching the statue. Upon growing closer he could hear a dull sound that sounded like footsteps. He quickly circled the statue and jumped forward, holding up his sword threateningly, and receiving a short cry in response of it.

"Six?" Eight didn't understand seeing the small artist here and put his knife back on his back. At this time Six had fallen back down onto the ground, looking quite afraid of the sudden knife beckoned at him. "What are you doing out here!" Was the only question, Eight crying it out in a shocked tone, and Six answering, "Well… I-I… Followed you." He murmured out and looked very guilty in the process. Eight huffed a bit, not in anger, but more so in the fact that he was upset that he himself couldn't tell the smaller was following him. "Why?" He asked and the artist shrugged, "I don't know." With that Eight huffed and held his hand out, helping Six up, and then went over to get the inkwell of water.

"You should have stayed at the sanctuary." Eight pointed out, but Six shook his head, "Wanted to come with you." They started walking in silence. Neither really knew what to say in this situation before Six decided to speak up, "Thank you for doing this… Nobody else said it because they're so worried about Nine. This was a good thing that you did." Eight shook his head, "No, it wasn't. I did this, I caused this, and nothing I can do is 'good' anymore. It was my fault that I was stupid enough to shove him onto that pole." As he began to walk ahead, he could hear Six struggling to keep up without running. "You didn't mean to push him on the pole." He pointed out.

At this Eight abruptly stopped in his tracks and merely stared ahead. He could feel when Six made contact with his back and promptly fell down behind him, the bully somewhat noted that Six was quite off balance for a Stitchpunk. Looking back he knew he had to say something and waited until the artist was looking at him. "Listen, I'm…" He knew he'd have to force the words out; this whole Nine situation had made him realize how easy it would be for him to hurt Six, and he knew he was even smaller than Nine so he could easily be hurt worse. The thought of what could have happened if he had pushed Six instead of Nine was eating at his fabric, "I'm sorry for going at you."

"It's okay. You were still upset about Nine."

"Not back in the room." Eight explained, the words coming a bit easier now, "Nine was right to defend you. I'm always doing something to hurt you, ripping up your stuff, tripping you, this has to stop. I'm not going to mess with you anymore. It's over. It could've been you who fell on that thing." Another silent moment when neither spoke, again Six broke the silence, "Really?" The hopeful tone still lingered after so many broken promises, so much hurt, and the larger nodded before holding his hand out to help him up. "Yeah." Six allowed himself to trust him and took the hand to be lifted. Once up he let the smile come through, "We can be friends now?" More hope in this question.

Finally Eight let a smile form as well, "I think I can pull that off." Six started to walk back towards the new sanctuary, leading Eight along with him. Eight himself looked down and saw that their hands were still locked tight and decided not to separate them. This would have to be his payback for bulling Six so long, and honestly it wasn't that bad.

* * *

><p>Running into the workshop, One could see what made the thudding noise. Nine was now on the ground and had fallen off the cot, possibly his confusion causing him to misjudge his actions. Now he was reaching towards the leader with a pained expression, "One!" Said male rushed to his aid and started to help him up somewhat only to have Nine falter. He couldn't stand, or was too confused to think of standing, and he felt incredibly hot. Then he suddenly began to start crying, dry sobs appearing out of nowhere, and One was becoming a lot more concerned, "Where does it hurt?" No answer and he softly touched Nine's cheek, "Nine, you have to tell me where it hurts."<p>

"Something's wrong with me!" Nine managed out, "I-I can't think straight! I feel so weird! What's wrong with me!" One attempted to explain, though he doubted Nine was clearheaded enough to understand, "You're overheating and it is making you close to delirious." He then somewhat stroked Nine's head, "We need to get you back onto the cot." He lifted the male and placed him on the cot, the younger Stitchpunk recoiled from it, and it was obviously not comfortable. "Don't let me go, please One…" The leader couldn't say no to him and ended up holding him while he lay on the cot, quickly unzipping him so that he could cool his insides. Then glanced at the door.

Two had watched the entire thing and had this knowing smile on his lips. He waved a bit to signal his leave before exiting and heading to find Five. This left the other two alone, and Nine seemed to become incredibly affectionate in his delusion. He pressed into One's front, his optics sliding shut, and he actually smiled a little. "I love you." Meanwhile One was quite worried for Nine's health as these sudden emotion swings were caused by his fever. Still worried, afraid, and sure that Nine could only get worse, he decided to indulge the younger. He knew Nine couldn't mean it, but decided to attempt to make him feel somewhat better, "I love you too, Nine."

With that Nine pressed closer and One tried to ignore the horrible heat radiating off of him. They stayed there like that, neither moved.

* * *

><p>When Five saw the smile on Two's face he felt somewhat relieved. He thought he had heard something going on, but with Two looking so content it was obvious that everything was okay. So instead he smiled as well and approached his mentor, "Everything is okay?" The Inventor nodded, "Yes. Nine told One that he had strong feelings for him and he was a bit surprised." Five's optic widened, "He said that? He actually told One he loved him?" Being his best friend, he knew that Nine had feelings for the leader, but Nine swore that they would go away and that they weren't that serious. His mentor knew this which was why he was so willing to explain what happened. "The fever loosened his… Voice box." Two was to say 'tongue', but that wouldn't have worked right.<p>

Then Two chuckled a bit, "They would be quite an odd couple, would they not? Not a bad one, but a bit strange when first facing it I assume. They don't seem like the two who would fall in love." Five laughed a little as well, his own Two-like chuckle, "No, they don't. They're a weirder couple then we would be!" When it sunk in, Five made a choking noise as he realized what he had just said. Meanwhile Two looked at him in surprise for that was the last thing he expected his apprentice to say to him. The healer tried to stutter out an excuse, "I-I mean… Strange and, you know, we are… I uh…" Two actually looked down at the floor and Five winced as he though his mentor was disappointed.

"Well I disagree…" Two said in a soft, almost shy voice, "I actually think that… We would make a good couple." He suggested and Five found himself staring at the other as though he was insane. He was shocked that the other suggested that, somehow, they could be together. Then Five actually thought about it and forced more words out, "I-I never said we would be a bad couple… We could be a good couple…" Now he was getting the 'insane' look and he felt himself heat up faster than Nine running a fever. His optic looked up as Two came closer before dropping back to the floor. He was now feeling very awkward and wished he wouldn't have said anything at all about the subject of them being a couple.

Then Two was so close that Five couldn't look down to avoid him. He was always shorter, so he could squeeze into the line of vision while getting so close that they almost touched. "Five," Two started and finally Five looked at him, seeing the smile stretched across the older's face, "If you feel that way, perhaps we could do an experiment to see how it would be." Five blinked, "You mean… You mean we should become a couple?" He felt his breathing speed up and the Inventor smiled wider, "It would be interesting, and I am sure we could have fun. Maybe it will last for a while, maybe forever." The one eyed one took in the words and softly exhaled, "Forever…"

"Forever." Two reassured, as though he actually had wanted this, and perhaps Five wanted it too. He had always liked the Inventor more than a father-son relationship, in a way that he couldn't exactly explain. Then his breath was taken away as Two pressed their lips together. It felt like pure wonderful pleasure for the time that they were together, suddenly locking each other in a tight grip of their grasps. Both of them felt perfect and either wished to pull away as warmth sparked between them. Two was petting the side of Five's head, right over his patch, and it caused said healer to flash back to when Two had saved his life. He was in debt to Two as much as he was in love with Two.

When they separated for a brief second, still holding each other, Five decided to voice his newest discovery, "I love you." Two looked thrilled and continued to smile happily, "I love you too, Five." They almost pressed their lips together again when they heard something. "The bucket lift." The younger pointed out and the older nodded, "Most likely Eight with the water. We might need to continue this later." Five nodded In agreement and they watched as the lift made its way to the sanctuary. It carried Eight, Six, and Seven. Seeing the water caused Two to smile again as perhaps this meant they could finally aid Nine.

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><p>One almost allowed himself to fall asleep on the cot with Nine. He had climbed in beside him only a little while earlier and, being late at night, he was quite tired. Right as his slanted optics began to slide shut the room was entered by Two, "Eight just got back with the water." The leader exhaled a bit and forced himself off of the cot, "Good. Nine is still overheating." By now Nine was somewhat awoken as well and tried to grasp onto One who stood. When Eight handed the ink well to Two, the medic crossed over to the cot where Nine was still open. "Now this might feel cold, but we must get you fever down." He uncapped the inkwell, grabbed a rag he used for various things, and wetted it.<p>

The second Two laid it in Nine's metal the younger shivered and moaned in discomfort. It felt so cold to him and he reached out for One. When his hand was taken, he finally calmed down enough, and Two started to drench his insides in more water. The shivering grew worse as the water did its job to help the overheating. Once he was drenched adequately he was freezing, but Two was sure that he could already feel his fever beginning to cool. "You may still feel cold, but that's a good thing." One stroked the closer hand to him gently, running over the metal and actually liking the shape and feel of the hand. He somewhat noted that he was acting different, but didn't care as he was still here to comfort Nine.

Two said a quick 'good night' and went to Five's room, Eight retreated to his own room quietly, and One exhaled in somewhat relief of this being settled. "Get some rest, Nine." Nine spoke up immediately, "I can't, the cot is too hard, and it's hurting my back." The leader decided not to point out that the Stitchpunk had been sleeping fine on the cot only a bit earlier, he decided to instead move Nine somewhere more comfortable, "Should I take you to your room?" He was willing to actually carry the other even though he knew that any sort of good leader wouldn't carry their followers about. Perhaps Nine was a special case. Nine shook his head in response, "I want you to take me to _your _room."

He was still delusional, One convinced himself; he had no idea what he was saying in these words. Still he had gone this far and perhaps Nine wouldn't remember this when the fever came down, so he allowed the injured one to stay with him. "Can you walk?" As Nine sat up and swayed a bit, not even on his feet yet, One realized there was no way he could expect Nine to walk in these conditions and ended up having to carry him again. Not that One much minded doing this as in guaranteed physical contact. As this sunk in he began to start to take Two's words to heart. Everything they had discussed earlier was pushed to the back of his mind until right this second.

The tension between One and Nine had always been because One did have unusual feelings for him. When he was partially usurped during the 'Fabrication Machine incident' One had felt nothing but anger, hate, and this strange spark that constantly pointed out how new and bizarre it felt to have Nine tell him what to do. He didn't like it, period; he was the leader and nobody else was. Then there were those few times when looking at Nine felt rather good. Not to mention the times he would purposely brush past the younger male to get a second of contact. He even sacrificed himself to save the other and yet swore he would've done it for any of the others; the truth in that was questionable.

After the Life Giving Rain brought them back, and his hand was fixed, One started to catch on to the fact that perhaps he felt in some ways stronger for Nine. Especially that moment when Nine said he didn't want to be leader and that One was the only leader they needed. Still the leader tried to stay in the dark about any feelings he may have for Nine, until now. The mere feeling of laying Nine down in his own bed caused One to somewhat admit that there was something between them. Though he highly doubted that Nine meant what he said earlier. Still, lying back down beside Nine was enough for now, it was all he truly wanted now.

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><p><strong>Mable: Alright, end of chapter two, expect the third very soon. I hope you enjoyed!<strong>


	3. Chapter Three

__**Mable: Third and final chapter. Again, I don't have much to say except that, again, I hope you enjoy!**

_**So Sudden**_

_Chapter Three_

"_What happened?" _When Nine began to regain consciousness he was only aware of how much his chest and back ached. Everything was a blur and he groaned a bit as he tried to move into a more comfortable position. He could feel something warm and vice-like tight around his waist so at first he thought he was restrained. Until he looked down and saw the very familiar hands resting on his open zipper. He could feel dampness in his insides and tried to think of what had happened. He knew this was One; he could feel him pressed against his back. Heat rose in his face and he pushed back against the leader behind him as to get more contact. As much as he knew he needed to question this, the other was so warm and it was so safe.

Then One moved and Nine decided to pretend like he was waking up, "What happened?" His voice was cracking and his chest throbbed as he moved a little. The leader immediately moved away, releasing Nine in almost a gentle motion, "You can't remember yesterday? You were injured." A flash of memory and Nine winced as he remembered being impaled. He could feel One stand up and begin to exit the room, "You should sleep longer. You were up all night last night, whether you remember it or not." The way he said that held a tone that could only be called melancholy and Nine wondered what had happened after he went unconscious last night.

He knew that it would hurt, but Nine decided that he wanted to get out of bed. As the Stitchpunk forced himself to stand he felt the pain in his metal and realized he would have to certainly move slower. As he attempted this he exited One's room and began to walk to the workshop at this eased pace. Once he stepped in he swore he saw something off. For a second it looked like Five, who was standing behind Two, had his arms around the inventor's small waist. It immediately changed as the two moved to look over at the door; Nine assumed he had been seeing things. "Nine, you're okay!" Five's excited voice showed exactly how worried he had been for his best friend.

The healer embraced Nine, softly so that he wouldn't hurt him, and Nine embraced him back. Two also came over and gave his shoulder a gentle pat, "You gave us quite a scare!" He smiled and Nine smiled back, relieved that everything was alright now. He decided to ask about the night before, "What happened last night? One was acting strange." Both looked frozen and yet neither mentioned Nine's confession. "You were overheating all night and got quite delusional. We were all afraid that you wouldn't make it. However, it seems that you are fine now. Do you hurt anywhere?" Nine gestured to where the pole had gone through, "It aches a little when I move the wrong way."

"That is completely normal." Two explained, "When I lost my… Well, after the Fabrication… Had my 'accident', I could feel if for about a week after I was repaired. Just make sure not to strain yourself." Insisting he wouldn't, Nine said he was going to check up on Six, as the artist could've been traumatized from witnessing the accident. Two agreed that this was a good idea and while Nine left, he returned to his previous activities with Five. Making sure that the other's arms were locked tight around his waist yet again. Not that Nine managed to catch this as he stepped out the door and began to head to Six's room. As he stepped through the curtain he again seemed to catch something strange occurring here as well.

Six was drawing, as usual, on the floor. That was normal, but Eight just standing off to the side, leaning against the wall, was not nearly as normal. They both looked over at once at the Stitchpunk who had just stepped into the room. Immediately Six smiled wide and stood before rushing over to embrace the male, "Nine!" He cried happily as he locked onto him, his arms and hands like vice-grips on Nine who tried to ignore the sharp stab of pain. "Hey, Six. I was coming to check and see if you were okay." The artist nodded and finally managed to pull away, "Are you?" Nine nodded as well, "It hurts a little, but Two explained that it would hurt for a while afterwards. I trust that he's right."

Then Six suddenly looked back at Eight, shooting a weird look, and the made a small gesture with his head. Eight looked confused and didn't exactly respond while Six still tried to communicate with his optics. Nine assumed that he was causing a rift between the two even though they were having a somewhat event free day. "I probably should go see the others. They are probably worried." Even though Nine didn't blame Eight, he wasn't in the mood to be having an awkward moment with him, so he exited the room. A few moments before he heard someone follow him and thought it was Six. It wasn't the small artist though, it was the one who had shoved him, Eight.

"Nine." Eight started, obviously he had never done something like this before, "You know I didn't mean to shove you onto the pole right? It was stupid, I know, but you know I didn't want to do that to you. I would never have pushed you if I knew that damn thing was behind you." At this Nine felt a smile grow; it felt good to know that Eight actually was sorry for hurting him. Though he didn't mean to have Eight feel badly, just to have the other grasp the seriousness of what happened. Maybe he even cared a bit. "Last night you really shook us up. We thought that you weren't going to make it. I even went to the library to get you water, One would've been out there if I didn't go."

Again Nine seemed to smile wider, "Thanks. I can't remember anything last night, but still." Eight waved it off, "Don't. It'll just make this whole thing a lot worse. Let's just say that we can get past this." This was eating at his conscious and Nine was willing to ease his mind, "No, this was my fault. The things I said were out of line and I was practically persuading you to do something. I was just mad over the fight with One and took it out on you." Eight huffed, "Yeah, but if I could control myself I wouldn't have pushed you, so it's my fault." It was like he was trying to win an argument in which he blamed himself for another getting hurt, "You were right, I was wrong, it was my fault that this happened."

Then there was silence and Nine spoke up, "We can pretend that this never happened." He suggested and Eight seemed a bit hesitant, "It's not like we can do anything else." Then the smaller Stitchpunk smiled, "I forgive you for pushing me if you forgive me for what I said." This seemed to work for both of them and suddenly all tension were eased incredibly between them. Then a weird noise could be heard, like footsteps, quick ones, and then out of nowhere Nine was practically tackled by two smaller Stitchpunks. Three and Four obviously, and they seemed also pleased to see that Nine was better now. Eight watched on as Nine struggled to keep from toppling over under the weight.

"Careful," Seven warned with a smile as she walked up, "He might not be back to normal yet." The twins decided to back off at this time so that they wouldn't hurt him anymore. Seven turned to Nine, "So how are you feeling?" The male again explained how he was feeling and Eight gave a signal that he was leaving, an odd hand gesture, and then retreating into Six's room again. Suddenly Nine thought of speaking to Seven, asking about One, "Did something happen last night? One was acting strange when I… Woke up in his bed." Nine suddenly realized exactly what kind of situation he awoke in that morning. The Warrior didn't know exactly what happened, but wasn't naïve, so she had a good enough idea.

"I'm not sure." Seven spoke, trying to hide a smirk as she said the next words, "You can ask him if you want. He's in the throne room." The male looked down and thought for a second, "I guess I should. Thanks." Then he headed towards the throne room. The female knew a bit of what was occurring and was sure that whatever would occur between the two would be eventful, so she decided to lead the twins into the room. It wasn't like they didn't know either. The way they looked at each other with though giggling flashes from their optics. The three headed into one of the other rooms so that they could give Nine the private time he would need with One, to get the answers he needed.

When Nine entered the throne room he immediately searched out One who was standing by the vented window instead of being on his throne. Not wanting to startle him, Nine approached slowly, "One?" His voice was as quiet as he was slow and yet still caused the leader to jump as though the voice horrified him. He looked towards Nine with the same melancholy look as before, trying to cover it with a fake glare. The façade wasn't good enough to fool anyone though. With that the younger decided to speak up to him, "One… I can't remember last night at all, but you're acting weird and I was in your bed… So I was wondering if you could tell me what happened when I was confused."

Looking away, One scoffed, "You had no idea what you were saying and said some strange things. You kept trying to stand so someone needed to watch you, and I was the reason you went out anyway, so I took it upon myself to watch you and make sure nothing more happened." At this Nine felt a fluttering in his inner metals that wasn't of pain at all. Even after the fight the other still seemed to somewhat care even if he was acting like he didn't. "Thank you, One. I can remember a second of you carrying me and I know that you probably helped a lot. Even though we fought yesterday…" He paused to see if One was still listening and could tell that even though he was facing the window, his optics were angled towards him.

An exhale and Nine continued, "About yesterday, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have been out. I thought I was going to be back before dark, it just got dark so fast. Then I thought I got away with it until you said that you knew I got in late. By then you were upset and I wasn't thinking." He sighed, "And then this happened and-." When he gestured to the wound as though it was nothing but a scratch, One turned on him, "What do you mean; _And then this happened?_ That wasn't a mere tear, an out of place limb; you could have been taken away from me in seconds! You care more about our fight then you do the fact that you could have not awoken this morning! You could have passed away in the night!"

There was a second of silence as Nine was sent reeling from the suddenly scolding. Then he was the one to look away, "I just didn't want to bring it up anymore. The fight was worse than the injury to me. I'm sorry." One hissed, "Stop saying that. Stop saying you're sorry; you did nothing to cause this. I shouldn't be yelling at you." He voiced before a flash of melancholy passed by yet again. Then Nine started to catch on that perhaps One wasn't mad at him, maybe this was because of whatever happened last night. "One, I said something last night, what was it?" Now One was sent reeling, "You said many things last night. Nothing stood out more than the rambling that occurred from the overheating."

"No." Nine was absolutely sure, "I said something. I know that I did because everyone is acting like I said something, or at least Five and Two were." When those slanted optics widened a bit he knew he hit a nerve. "Please, One. I have the right to know what I said that upset you." The leader looked over cautiously as not to give out any emotions, "Why do you really care? Does it really matter that perhaps you slipped up and said something? Can you not just let the subject drop?" Nine only took a second to reply as he caught the hidden meaning behind the words; he had said something and it did upset One, "I can't. I have to know, One. Please, what happened last night?"

"Nothing!" One retorted and Nine's voice rose, "You aren't acting right!" Again the leader defended, "You obsess over nothing!" Still the younger protested, "I want to know what I said!" Then One slipped up, "You said you loved me!" Horror crossed Nine's vision as he took in the words, "I… I what?" One looked away and stared at his throne as he responded, "You said that you loved me." Now Nine wished he actually could have died as he spun around to cover his emotions. He had told One that he was in love with him, he had successfully ruined everything. It was supposed to just stay hidden so that it wouldn't cause a wall to be built between the two of them and he wouldn't be shoved away.

There was a huff from One, "Nine I completely understand." That melancholy tone now even sounded sad, "I know you would never say something so wrong on purpose and that is why I am trying to not bring it up. I have made mistakes, everyone makes mistakes, and I know this was one of those uncontrollable things that were emotionless." They were both facing different directions from each other now as One finished, "Let us just try to get past this." With this Nine started to walk out of the throne room, embarrassed, but he could certainly hear that same tone and knew he couldn't just leave. He had to face what he had done saying that and tried to speak as clearly as possible.

"I meant it." There was a shuffled noise as One turned around to face Nine, "What do you mean; you meant it?" Nine thought that perhaps he made a mistake and trembled a bit under the other's voice. Though this wasn't the first time One's voice left him feeling shy and weak. "I meant it… I didn't mean to say it, but I meant it. I didn't want you to know because I knew you would try to get as far away from me as possible. I don't blame you, though. I seriously don't blame you. I just had to let you know the truth because I couldn't have it hanging over me after I even admitted to it." Then he started to slowly walk towards the exit, "I love you, One. I'm sorry that this had to happen. I'm sorry _I _had to happen."

It was only a second when Nine was walking only to be practically spun around. He almost fell against One who had been the one to stop him. They stared at each other, optics locked, Nine's shocked ones and One's that held this look he had never seen before. Whatever it was it sent shivers down Nine's back. Then the leader actually spoke, "You cannot remember anything from last night, but if you did you would remember what I said to you." Nine's mind was racing as he desperately tried to remember what had been said to him. It was a blur though as he had been so confused and injured at the time. "No, I… I can't remember… But I want to know." Nine tried as he felt One's hand slide down his arm.

The leader leaned so close that Nine could feel the warmth radiating off of him, "I love you too." Then he closed the awfully small gap between them and pressed their mouths together. Nine didn't know what it meant, but it felt like the most beautifully wonderful thing that could ever occur. Their lips moved together as One dominated the action, the kiss, and they were beginning to get so warm that it was as though both had fevers. Nine had a tight grip on to the older's cape and didn't care if he tore the fabric. Neither did One, it didn't matter right now. Separating took quite a while and as One tried to move back, Nine tried to keep their mouths tightly together. Eventually they did manage to part themselves from the action.

"You will never understand how much you scared me. I have never been so afraid in my life." One continued to hold Nine close and could feel that the burlap skinned Stitchpunk pressing into his touch, "Yes you have." He reassured, causing One to look at him in confusion for a second. "That came out wrong." Nine corrected as he pressed his head into the other's shoulder, enjoying the feel of the fabric that cloaked the other shoulders. "I'll be more careful One, this won't happen again." The leader pressed their lips together chastely, "Good. Now, you need to get some rest. You only slept for a few hours at best." This sounded like a good idea as Nine was growing quite weary after visiting everyone.

"Will you come with me?" Nine asked, not wanting to leave One, and the leader actually smiled, "Naturally." With those words they left the throne room, together, more than content to spend the rest of the day with each other. Even if it meant spending all day holding each other in bed, and being thankful that a once terrible situation turned perfect, then so be it.

_**FIN  
><strong>_

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><p><strong>Mable: That's it! Expect more <em>9 <em>fics VERY soon! Thanks for reading and please review. ^-^ I hope you enjoyed!**


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